The Sustainability Principle
 of Energy

 

Home   First draft Aug 2010 

About this Work and Updates  

  Online Etymology Dictionary

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The Power of Symbols

What is a Prime Symbol?

Variations on the Wisdom Of Confucius

How to Conserve
the Potential

The Human Condition

General Theory

Practical Application

Index of Denial/Acceptance

The Joys in 
Acceptance
Are you vulnerable to denial?
Review Call
Evaluate your
teachers /media
The Compassionate Curriculum
 
Defining some Prime Symbols

Energy

Energy Efficiency

Power

Electricity

Greenhouse

Warming/Cooling

Science

Information

Carbon

Atmosphere

Climate Change

Exponential
Trace

Potential

Compassion

Conserve

Sustain
Environment
Market
Peak Oil
Conservation 
Principle of Energy
Use
Up/Down
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Compassionate Curriculum

First draft Aug 2010 Third Draft Sept 2012

 


Click here to enlarge and compare curricula

Directions for Learning -General Framework 
Sustainable Perspectives
Learning Area -Civics
Learning Area -Language 
Learning Area -Technology
Summary Note to Framework

Aug 2012
Note 1
See here to compare illustrations
of the New Zealand Curriculum Framework and the Compassionate Curriculum Framework.
Note 2
Refinement of the definitions of learning areas  means  detail of Learning Area frameworks is in urgent need of review though the fundamental framework is sustained.

Directions for Learning

Vision

All people will experience compassion, thus enabling them to enjoy the state of science so they develop all manner of sustaining arts (skills) including languages and civics.

Requisites for the state of science to exist.

Compassion with its capacities for:

Inclusiveness

Collegiality, openness and sharing

Inquiry, wonder and forgiveness

Honesty and trust

Generosity of Time and Reflection

 

Aspirations

Excellence;

Innovation, inquiry and wonder;

Diversity;

Equity;

Democratic communities;

Harmony with universal balances;

Integrity,

Humility and Respect.

Key Competencies

Enjoying compassion;

Living in the state of science;

Valuing symbols, using language and texts;

Thinking with integrity;

Self respect;

Valuing others;

Enjoying mindfulness

 

Learning Areas

 Civics:
 
exploring the nature of energy and how to use it in sustainable ways.

 Languages: exploring the nature of symbols and how to conserve their sustaining potential.

Technology: 
exploring the nature of materials and how we can use them to enhance our capacities in sustaining ways.

Principles

Compassion (for self, other humans and all else); Cultural Diversity (Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand/Aotearoa);  Care with symbol use; Enjoying the state of science; Truth without fear; Embracing civics; Harmony, inclusiveness and connection.

Sustainable Perspectives

Existence can be viewed from myriad perspectives and ultimately each perspective is of equal and vital value. These perspectives include physics, psychology, chemistry, sociology, geography, history, symbol use (languages including mathematics) and biology (including the human body).


Students will explore and appreciate:
The civics of any and all perspectives.
The sustaining language of any and all perspectives.
The sustaining technology of any and all perspectives.

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Learning Area - Civics
(The art of living in sustainable ways.)

 
Energy is the potential of the universe(s). Humans are mortal forms and cannot know the full potential. However the evidence is that we are intimately involved with how that potential is manifest (The Uncertainty Principle of Energy). Also this far no human in recorded history has ever in any practical way found flaws in the Conservation Principal of Energy which states that energy is so bounteous it can be considered a constant and that it is subject to constant transformations. Energy is manifest in every aspect of existence and no aspect or form of existence can be called energy. An aspect may be categorized as a form or source or manifestation or type of energy and each aspect has its own unique symbol.

Students will explore the nature of energy so they can appreciate its potential more fully, understand how it is manifest and be better able to live in harmony with its changing reality. They learn to use imagination to engage unexpected outcomes and to explore multiple solutions. They will learn to explore energy from the following perspectives:

 

Psychology studies the minds (including mental and emotional processes) of humans and other sentient creatures and how we reflect and respond to our changing universe.

 

Sociology studies human and other societies for their social relations, belief systems, organisation and capacity to adapt to change.

 

Physics explores for principles governing matter and energy and their interactions so we are able to understand and use the forces affecting our universe.

 

Chemistry studies the composition and properties of substances, and  the reactions by which substances are produced from or converted into other substances.

Biology explores the origin, history, physical characteristics, life processes, habits, etc. of living organisms such as plants animals, and  viruses.

 

Students will explore their various Beings from the above perspectives. These shall include the following Beings:

  

Thermal Beings - includes understanding and being in harmony with the balances of the  thermal flows of our universe Electrical Beings - includes identifying all electrical phenomena and sustainable uses of them Trace Beings- includes understanding how the universe comprises of trace elements and exploring their powers.

 

Human Beings- includes our psychology,  sociology and the civics that sustains us Earth  Beings -includes understanding the  tectonic forces of our planet and the conservation of minerals and soils

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Ocean Beings- includes understanding  key water cycles and how we are sustained by them.

Atmospheric Beings- includes knowing the power of our breath and our role in all atmospheric processes

Carbon Beings- includes knowing key carbon cycles and being stewards of carbon Solar   Beings - includes exploring our solar system and making maximal use of our solar potential.

 Universal Beings - includes knowing we are part of the universe and each of us can be viewed as many types of being.

 

 

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 Learning Area -Sustainable Language
(The art of employing sustainable uses of symbols.)

Languages are sets of coincidences of meaning or symbols that enable sentient beings to communicate and share meaning. Symbols enable all sentient beings to survive and procreate. Flawed uses of symbols can destroy a species.
Our symbol use is a paradox in that it simultaneously reflects and generates the state of our being. The gift is to be able to transcend this paradox and thrive. We have wise guides in the principles of physics.

Though a symbol may directly involve as few as one sense, its use is governed by all the senses. This is because the choice of use of symbol and the response to the symbol are both determined by the totality of the experience of those sharing meaning through a symbol use. 

The sets of symbols contain grammar, or systems of rules, that are used to manipulate the symbols and these are what give them their communicative power.

Different communities of users may employ the same sound, object, visual display, motion, smell etc to convey very different meanings within their community. With humans, for instance, in Spanish communities the “nada” sound means “nothing’ while in Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian communities it means “hope”. In order to comprehend a community it is necessary to understand both the unique meaning its ascribes to a symbol and the grammar it adopts.

If the Principle of the Conservation of Energy holds true then all communities live in a flux of change. The language of a community determines whether or not it reflects and communicates this reality i.e. whether or not the community lives in harmony with the balances and flows of energy transformations. 
This means any sustainable language embraces constant change and is a “living” system. 
The sustainability of any community is reliant on its capacity to conserve the potential of its symbols to reflect this universal reality of change. Failure to conserve this potential results in a loss of viability and general harmony. By embracing the Conservation Principle of Energy we are better able to transcend the paradox of symbol use.

In New Zealand Aotearoa students will appreciate the power of symbols and grammar with particular focus on English and Maori so they can explore and become stewards of New Zealand’s unique culture. They will also value other languages, including Mathematics, Drawing, Music and Dance so they can better link to global communities, comprehend the “biological” languages of sentient beings on our planet and enjoy greater connection and harmony with our planet's systems and the greater universe.

 

Mathematics and Statistics -including exploring and making use of patterns and relationships in quantities, space and time so symbol use better reflects universal processes and generates greater meaning.

 

 

English-
including understanding, using and creating oral, written, and visual texts of increasing complexity in English so New Zealand culture is sustained.

 

 

Maori- including understanding, using and creating oral, written, and visual texts of increasing complexity in Maori so New Zealand culture is sustained

 

Other human languages-
including the comprehension of a range of  grammar protocols and the use of strategies to learn human languages so the reflection and insights of other human communities can be shared.

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Languages of sentient beings-
Including identifying and comprehending the languages of the communities of sentient beings inhabiting our planet so greater meaning is found in Earth’s biological systems.

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Students will express their various Beings and the meaning gained from their insights into reality by learning languages and by learning about languages.  These shall include the following Beings:

  

Thermal Beings - including  communication of insights into the balances of the  thermal flows of our universe and the care of them. Electrical Beings - including  reflecting the  potential in all electrical phenomena and sustainable  uses of them. Trace Beings- including  expressing  the trace elements  that comprise the universe(s)   and reflecting on their powers.

 

Human Beings- including  our mythology psychology,  sociology and the civic systems that sustain us. Earth  Beings -including  reflecting  the  tectonic forces of our planet in language and our roles as stewards of its minerals and soils.

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Ocean Beings- including  reflecting  key water cycles and our roles as stewards of  water.

Atmospheric Beings- including  expressing the power of our breath and our role in all atmospheric processes.

Carbon Beings- including  reflecting key carbon cycles and our roles as stewards of carbon. Solar   Beings - including  reflecting the processes of our solar system and sharing sustainable uses of our solar potential.

 Universal Beings - including  expressing how we are part of the universe and describing all the different types of  being each individual can be viewed as.

 

 

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 Learning Area - Sustainable Technology
(The art of employing sustainable uses of materials.)

 

 

Technology involves the use and transformation of materials to extend our capacity to experience, reflect on and engage with the universal potential. It inherently involves knowledge of the materials, knowledge of the skills required to use the materials and knowledge of the impacts of these uses. Science is understood to be a moral way of being in the Compassionate Curriculum Framework and thus all learning of technology is imbued with a sense of stewardship/change.

 

Thermal Beings - including  sustainable uses of  the  thermal flows of our universe. Electrical Beings - including  sustainable uses of the  potential in all electrical phenomena. Trace Beings- including  sustainable uses of the trace elements  that comprise the universe(s).

 

Human Beings-   including  sustainable uses of  our mythology psychology,  sociology so our civic systems are enhanced. Earth  Beings including  sustainable uses of  the  tectonic forces, minerals and soils of our planet. 

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Ocean Beings- including  sustainable uses of  the flows and balances of the waters of our planet.

Atmospheric Beings- including  sustainable uses of  the flows and balances of the air of our planet.

Carbon Beings- including  sustainable uses of  the flows and balances of the carbon of our planet. Solar   Beings - including  sustainable uses of  the solar potential of our planet.

 Universal Beings - including  exploring how we are part of the universe so all our beings can be experienced as one..

 

 

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Summary Note to framework:

The Compassionate Curriculum Framework was generated as an alternative to the New Zealand National Education Curriculum Framework. The latter teaches that science is an amoral way of thinking, as in the Des Carte’s notion “I think, therefore I am”. Science is framed as a study parallel to "The Arts", language, social sciences, physical education etc and a small proportion of the population (less than 1%) are described as “scientists”. The rest of us are deemed to be non-scientists.

The Compassionate Curriculum teaches that science is a profoundly moral state of being, as in the notion “I act, therefore I am”. Science is framed as a state of being that all human beings are born into and that this state of being ceases to exist when any of the major qualities of compassion are lacking. All human beings experience the states of both science and non-science to some degree and no person is described as a “scientist”. Thus science is framed as a way of being that enables all manner of arts (skills) including civics and sustaining languages and technology. We are all artists to some degree.
 In brief, the state of science enables all that we enjoy as civilisation to exist.

Implicit in the Compassionate Curriculum Framework is the notion that education success is evaluated by measuring what students do rather than what they say – which is the converse principle to the education rationale that currently dominates Anglo-American education. The focus is on what students say i.e. literacy, numeracy and consumption. New Zealanders, for instance, destroy resources at a rate per capita that is at least five times greater than what the planet can sustain. Thus the National Education Curriculum Framework is evaluated as profoundly flawed and non-sustainable.

Note 3 Aug 2012
See here for a comparison of illustrations
of the New Zealand Curriculum Framework and the Compassionate Curriculum Framework.

Page last  updated: Sept 2012

 

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